Popcorn

“Of course life is bizarre, the more bizarre it gets, the more interesting it is. The only way to approach it is to make yourself some popcorn and enjoy the show.”

– David Gerrold

I LOVE the smell of freshly popped popcorn!

It’s fun to pop a batch of popcorn and watch the kids’ faces light up when they smell what I’ve been up to. They race through the front door and straight to the kitchen table to see what flavor or flavors I’ve made the popcorn today.

I had a sweet reader tell me about how I can pop popcorn in a brown lunch sack bag in the microwave. It worked well but I have a lot of people so I felt like I was standing in the kitchen FOREVER popping away for everyone to have a snack.

I went old school.

My cheap little heart leaped at the idea of once again popping it on the stove.

Popcorn can be an easy, healthy and stretchable snack that everyone seems to be fond of. Plus, you know it’s just dang fun to wait for those first few kernels to pop! 😉

Grab a large pot with a lid.

Add 3 Tablespoons of oil into the pot over medium high heat.

(Recently I have taken to popping out popcorn in coconut oil or hemp seed oil. I like the health benefits and the flavor difference. You may use whatever type of oil floats your boat my friends.)

Allow the oil to heat for a couple of minutes.

When I think that the oil is ready, I toss in 1 or 2 kernels to test it.

If the oil immediately fizzes and bubbles around that pretty kernel, the oil is ready to get to making some popcorn.

Gently add ½ Cup of Popcorn Kernels into the hot oil or just enough kernels to cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer.

I once was in a hurry and thought I’d add extra- it would just make my work quicker. Guess what happened?

It burned because I had totally crowded the pot. Then I had to clean that up and start over. After scampering around opening doors, windows and turning on fans. UGH… burned popcorn is the pits! Just don’t be tempted. Stay the course and you’ll get awesome results. You can take risks with the flavor you’ll give it in the end in case you REALLY felel the need to bust out something daring.

I’m a big supporter of scouting programs. Every year I look forward to getting our Boy Scout Popcorn from Luc’s best friend. We’ve sold Girl Scout cookies for years, these kids work really hard so it’s an excellent reason to have a snack.

Now you want to put the lid on and trap that hot air inside that pot.

You can give the pot a shake or two every so often over the heat.

POP!

PoP POP Pop POP!!!

Suddenly the pot seems to come to life!

Like magic those hard little kernels turn into the beautiful fluffy perfect piece of popcorn we enjoy. Now THAT is just stinkin’ cool!

OUCH!

In the name of taking a picture for you, I cracked the lid on the pot for a peek.

Like corny fireworks dripping in molten hot oil, they rocketed out of the pan.

One shot to the left and one ricocheted off of my apron.

The third launched with deadly accuracy. It went straight down my cleavage and got stuck to my skin where the apron was tied and my t-shirt. OUCH! It caused painful dancing about the kitchen in a futile attempt to be further roasted. I have a scar.

As it starts to pop I tend to shake my pot in a gentle back and forth motion to prevent burning. It could also be because I always wanted to be able to buy Jiffy Pop but I always have and electric stove until now. Jiffy Pop Envy?

When the popping slows- you shake the pot and if it doesn’t sound like kernels shifting, it’s done.

Turn out the popcorn into a large bowl.

Now you have some choices… What flavor popcorn are you having?

Good Old Butter Popcorn- ½ Cup Butter, Melted. Mixed with ½ Teaspoon Salt and mixed into popcorn gently. Spread buttered popcorn out on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 5minutes or until dry. If desired.

Light Caramel Popcorn- Sauté in a small pan, ¼ Cup Butter, ¼ Teaspoon Salt and 4 tablespoons Brown Sugar. Heat over medium high until the sugar melts and it becomes a thicker sauce. Gently mix into Popcorn. Spread on a parchment lined cookie sheet to dry if desired.

Chili Lime Popcorn- Melt 1/4 Cup Butter. Add the juice of 2 limes to the butter and mix. ½ Teaspoon of red pepper, black pepper and salt. Mix well and slowly fold into popcorn. Spread on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 5minutes or until dry.

Lemon Pepper Popcorn- – Melt ¼ Cup Butter. Add the juice of 1 Large Lemon to the butter and mix. ½ Teaspoon of FRESH black pepper and salt. I like to add a little dash of Lawry’s Garlic Salt too. Mix well and slowly fold into popcorn. Spread on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 5minutes or until dry.

Cheddar Popcorn- Spread the popcorn along a parchment line cookie sheet. Sprinkle ¾ Cup Sharp Cheddar cheese evenly over the popcorn. Sprinkle with Lawry’s Garlic Salt to taste. Bake in the over at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and starting to get crispy. Remove from oven and let cool. Break/pull apart and serve.

Parmesan Popcorn- Spread the popcorn along a parchment line cookie sheet. Sprinkle ¾ Cup Fresh Shredded Parmesan cheese evenly over the popcorn. Sprinkle with Lawry’s Garlic Salt to taste. Bake in the over at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and starting to get crispy. Remove from oven and let cool. Break/pull apart and serve.

Peanut Butter Popcorn- 3 Cups of Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips melted with 1 Tablespoon of Butter. Gently pour over and mix up popcorn to coat it in peanut buttery goodness. If you want to be daring you can also drizzle it with ½ Cup melted Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips melted.

As you can see, the possibilities for your popcorn are only limited to your imagination!

Snuggle up with your favorite flavor!

Make a few flavors to share.

Have a popcorn taste test with your next movie night!

It’s fun, easy and inexpensive!

It’s a great way to make some fun memories on a dime with things you already have on hand.

Amanda

Hm, those all sound really good. I’m going to have to try a few of those. I think my favorite way to eat popcorn is with a little butter (ok… a lot of butter) and some cajun seasoning. Not sure if that’s available everywhere though.

The recipes sound amazing! We’ve been using a “Stir Crazy popper” for years. They are about 30 ish dollars but so well worth it. It makes a lot of corn and it stirs it for you so you can walk away while it does its thing. Thanks for the ideas…want to to try some for sure!